Ethics in Human Resource

Management

Presented By :
 Kanchan Sharma
 Renu Pahal
 Varsha Gupta
 Dhaval Jain
h .10
 Kavim Mathur C
R, ,Ch
.6
M o
1. IC and
 Stafard Anthony : n
r ce .Fer
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So
Contents

Genesis & growth of HRM

Scope of HRM

Different aspects of HRM

Emerging challenges of HRM

HR-related ethical issues

Discrimination issues

Privacy issues

Safety & Health

Remuneration

Retrenchment
 Genesis & Growth of HRM
 1890-1910:Taylor’s scientific management included selection&
training of workers , adequate rewards for good performance
 1910-1930:Importance to welfare of workers
 1930-1945:Hawthorne studies emphasizing motivating factors
affecting worker productivity
 1945-1965:More emphasis placed on collective bargaining & labor
relations
 1965-1985:EEO & Affirmative Action(US)
 1985-2005:3 trends impacted HRM : Increased diversity of
workforce, globalization of business & technological revolution &
HRM as a “strategic function”
 Scope of HRM
 Determining Human Resource needs
 Recruitment of suitable human resources
 Attracting potential employees & selecting them
 Training , developing & sustaining their competencies
 Rewarding them on a rational & equitable basis
 Evaluating performance & motivating them
 Creating a positive work environment
 Different aspects of HRM
 To forecast organizational demand & labor force supply of potential employees
 Aim of recruitment is to identify a suitable pool of applicants effectively & legally .
Selection involves choosing the best candidates
 Training & Development enhance the knowledge & skill levels of employees
 “Learning organization” where employees attempt to learn new things & apply
this learning to improve product or service quality
 Performance Management determines rewards for & the compensation of
employees
 Compensation-Evaluating pay through perceptions of fairness & equity
 Team Work
 Motivation-Retention , reducing turnover & absenteeism by ensuring staff are
motivated
 Role of HRM in creating an Ethical
Organization
 Areas of unethical conduct revolve around employment ,
remuneration , safety , training
 HR management should be guided by the principles of integrity &
devotion
 Institutional culture : The CEO & top management heavily influence
the culture
 The HR department plays an active role in developing an ethical
culture
 Creating an ethical organization : Code of ethics , Ethics committees ,
posing ethical dilemmas & a disciplinary system to deal with ethical
violations promptly& decisively
 Emerging Challenges of HRM

 Increased globalization
 Corporate restructuring
 Mergers & Acquisitions
 Newer organizational designs & structures
 Increasing emphasis on TQM
 Changing job profiles & need for flexibility
 Changing workforce profile
 Increasing role of women employees
 Increasing use of IT
 Increasing emphasis on knowledge management
 Safety & Health

 HRM executives have the responsibility to provide a safe &

conducive atmosphere at the workplace
 Industrial work is hazardous with accidents , injuries & illnesses
common
 New types of accidents & illnesses
 Cumulative trauma & disorder-wrist pain experienced by super-
market cashiers or keyboard operators, video display terminals
 BPO stress-prone with psychological & mental disorders

 Ethical dilemmas of managers , HR professionals come into focus

when justice is denied to victims ,during accidents
 Privacy issues
 Privacy refers to protecting a person’s private life from intrusive &
unwarranted action by employers
 Recruitment & Selection-Asking from prospective employees
personal questions
 Performance tracking in BPOs through call monitoring & desktop
tracking
 Privacy issues of computerized employee records
 Electronic Surveillance – close-circuit TVs , tapping of phones ,
reading of computer files
 The Ethics of HR
 The ethics of HR revolve around the issues arising out of the
employer-employee relationship as the rights & duties owed
between them
 The employer-employee relationship is based on the
employment contract
 HR executives have to play an active role to provide ethical
leadership in the organization
 Employers may try to achieve a balance between avoiding
rule violation & developing “felt fairness” at the level of the
individual
 HR practices now emphasize an ethics of care with a shift
from formal systems to a more personalized system
 HR-related ethical issues
 Discrimination issues
 Suppression of democratization in the workforce
 Safety & health
 Performance Appraisals
 Privacy issues
› Recruitment & Selection
› Performance tracking
› Computerized employee records
› Electronic Surveillance
 Remuneration
 Retrenchment
 Discrimination

 Most discrimination issues centre around age, gender , race, religion,

disabilities, etc.

 These discriminations are clearly exhibited in recruitment & promotions

 Credentials sometimes fail to differentiate between academic

qualifications & intelligence & vocational qualification & expertise

 Testing
 Equality of Opportunity

 An important principle of ethical selection is that every applicant

must be given equal opportunity, irrespective of the organization’s

criteria of hiring

 Every applicant is screened by the same criteria

 Providing opportunities for candidates from backward

communities-”reverse discrimination”

 Discriminatory hiring goes against the principle of ethical hiring

 Remuneration
 Remuneration includes monetary rewards , fringe benefits , perks ,
recognition & promotions
 Ethical Remuneration includes Need , Effort and Ability which alone does
not deserve rewards
 Principle of Ethical Remuneration
 Remuneration is not driven by employee’s need , depends solely on results
 Employees who work hard to perform a task need not be rewarded more
than those who do it effortlessly
 A person who works hard but fails to achieve results , deserves no reward
but sympathy
 Rewarding moral behavior irrespective of results achieved depreciates
long-term owner value
 Ethical Remuneration- Seniority & Loyalty
 Ethics in Retrenchment
 Firing “at will” or for a “cause ” is considered to be ethical when the
dismissal is aimed at maximizing long-term owner value
 Firing to be ethical ,should be honest ,fair , legal & without coercion
 Firing is considered to be ethical when it is a result of a particular
cause :
 This cause may be related to a worker's poor performance , acts of
sabotage , dishonesty or misuse of authority , which have an effect
on the long-term owner value